Control units are usually made up of a circuit board on which electronic components are placed, and a housing. In engine control units, a multipoint connector is usually installed on the circuit board in order to create the electrical connection between a wiring harness plug connector and the circuit board. The multipoint connector thus represents an additional component in the context of installation of the control unit.
Also known are direct electrical contacting systems, or so-called electrical “vias,” in which the multipoint connector is omitted and the individual poles of the wiring harness are contacted directly on the circuit board. Electrical contact surfaces or “lands,” which are contacted using contact elements that are inserted into the wiring harness plug connector, are provided for this purpose on the circuit board. The contact surfaces are usually contacted by projecting contact springs of the contact elements. The contact elements can be manufactured from a thin metal sheet using stamping and deformation technology. The risk exists in the context of the installation and handling of the contact elements, however, especially upon passage through a sealing mat, that the contact elements and in particular their projecting contact springs may be bent and thereby plastically deformed.